As I have sat at my desk this afternoon frantically
trying to get my taxes done before Monday (which is not only tax day but also a
day I fly out of the country) I caught myself watching the “scoreboard” at the
top of the page… I found it to be much like a game, full of ups and downs. (And I also remembered that I need to type the
weekly devotion since I will be flying out before dawn on Monday…)
The page in the program I am using has a place at the top
that tells what is owed to you – or by you. And with the order at which one
puts in the data, it can be very scary before getting to the allowances/deductions…
(and it definitely didn’t help when I had placed a number in the wrong place
and it showed my income as double what it is supposed to be…)
In a game it is easy to watch the scoreboard and let it
dictate one’s attitude. Those on the losing end can get worried; those on the winning
side can get flat… Yet the reality is that “it ain’t over till the fat lady
sings.” The job of a player/coach is to stay in the moment; taking care of each
possession. Even if things look bleak, you can only go at it one play at a time.
Life creates the same challenge for us. When we
constantly look at our present circumstances as if they are the “final result”
it is easy to get disheartened or complacent; when the reality is that God is
just calling for us to be faithful in the moment.
My good friend loaned me an Andy Stanley DVD where Andy
asked how different life would be if we truly believed God is with us… Lived as
though God were going through the negative with us… lived as though God were
going through the good times with us… After all isn’t maturity simply learning
to fully trust God?
Andy’s glaring example of this type of maturity was
Joseph. When going through all that Joseph endured he pointed out a verse that
would seem out of place for the immature reader; but it is a perfect reminder
to us of how we can and should live our daily lives.
During times of being sold into slavery; accused of rape;
thrown into prison; being forgotten/betrayed by a “friend”…
During times of being loved by his father; shown favor
from Potiphar; shown favor from Pharoah…
And the Scriptures record over and over that “the Lord
was with Joseph” through the good and the bad. And that is how Joseph lived his
life… with the knowledge that the Lord was with him!
Believer, I don’t know what you are going through but I do
know this: the Lord is with you! You can stop looking at the scoreboard and
instead look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! (Hebrews 12:2)
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